Interrogating the Present

Scholars and other experts on historical fascism, populism and right-wing authoritarianism are increasingly commenting on contemporary political developments in essays and opinion pieces. This section collects writings of this genre. It is organized thematically, with (at present) a heavy focus on the US American political scene. As of this writing, it includes mainly writings through 2016. We are working to bring it up to date and will continue to update it frequently, and we also will expand our coverage of other regions of the world.

The syllabus includes materials that should be useful for discussion, debate, and critique. Inclusion of an item does not indicate NFS’s endorsement of the author’s analysis or opinion.

This article can be read in tandem with the Pearl interview with Isabel Hull (see below); Kinsley argues quite the opposite - that a very recognizable agenda has emerged from Trump’s campaign, “in the sense of somebody who sincerely believes that the toxic combination of strong government and strong corporations should run the nation and the world.”

This article features an interview with Cornell University’s Isabel Hull, which focuses on placing Trump and his politics on the sliding scale between Republican and Fascist. Hull argues that Trump is “not principled enough to be a Fascist,” and points to the emergence of a discrepancy in American conservatism, especially in relation to the Republican Party.

This article discusses the correlation between Trump’s campaign and the rise of authoritarianism in America. This piece also seeks to define American authoritarianism, its workings, and what it can explain about contemporary American politics.

D’Eramo argues: “In short, as the label [of populism] comes to be applied to the most diverse movements, the phenomenon itself has become increasingly elusive. It would be easier to list what has not been defined as populist. At the same time, as we shall see, the social category from which it has been derived historically, ‘the people’, has all but vanished from political discourse. This essay will offer an explanatory hypothesis for the trajectories of both ‘populism’ and ‘the people’ [...]”

This article argues for the need to explore and define what populism truly is, and the ways in which in manifests - especially in our contemporary age. Müller argues “The conventional wisdom that populists want to bring politics closer to the people or even clamour for direct democracy could not be more mistaken. They do say that they are the only ones who care for the “people’s will”, but they are hardly interested in an open-ended, bottom-up process where citizens debate policy issues. What populists take to be the people’s real will is derived from what they stipulate to be the real people.”

This article reviews the first year of populist rule in Poland before Trump’s inauguration as POTUS on January 20th. Sierakowski writes “the liberals were wrong. [The Law and Justice Party] (PiS) has transformed itself from an ideological nullity into a party that has managed to introduce shocking changes with record speed and efficiency. Other countries currently anticipating populist rule should take note of its key hallmarks.” He argues that those who choose to resist populism must come to terms with the fact that the “truth is not enough.”

A brief overview of Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism, arguing that because we currently live in dark times, Arendt’s work can speak powerfully to our present moment. Even if these dark times are different, or perhaps less dark (or “differently dark”), Origins can raise a set of fundamental questions about how tyranny can arise, and “the dangerous forms of inhumanity to which it can lead.”

The title says it all - this piece explores the ever-important question of whether or not the election of Donald Trump as president is a threat to American democracy. Levitsky and Ziblatt argue “The risk we face, then, is not merely a president with illiberal proclivities — it is the election of such a president when the guardrails protecting American democracy are no longer as secure.”

This argues that, as the result of the emergence of new media, sublimation is no longer necessary, thus resulting in the dislocation from language. Mbembe demonstrates that the dislocation of language and sublimation from form and meaning can explain the growing anti-humanist sentiment that “goes hand in hand with a general contempt for democracy.”

A collection of materials suggested by anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists and others in response to question of what we should read/discuss in light of the victories of both Donald Trump in the US and the Brexit campaign in the UK.

About

The #NewFascismSyllabus is a crowd-sourced collection of scholarly writings on the history of fascist, populist, and authoritarian movements and governments. It is intended to serve as an entryway into the scholarly literature for those seeking deeper insights into how past societies have gravitated towards authoritarianism, and seeks to provide comparative perspectives on how everyday people, as well as cultural authorities and civil institutions, coped and, in some cases, resisted these changes.